It appointed Kate Cronin, who has led Ogilvy PR's New York office for five years while also serving as global healthcare practice leader, to oversee the integration of the PR unit into the new offering. She will continue to report to Christopher Graves, Ogilvy PR global CEO, as well as Matt Giegerich, chairman and CEO of Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide. She will also sit on Ogilvy CommonHealth's global board.

Robert Mathias, president of Ogilvy Washington, will lead the New York office as the agency searches for a replacement.

The change in approach had been in the works for years, as more pharmaceutical companies began to consolidate their operations and expect one shop to handle both earned and paid media.

“We're uniquely set up where we can deliver a fully integrated solution for clients that are demanding it,” Cronin said.

The agency decided to pull the trigger on the consolidation after seeing success with Social@Ogilvy, the cross-discipline social media practice launched in February, said Cronin. When it debuted Social@Ogilvy, it asked all social media experts to work in harmony regardless of marketing or communication discipline. Ogilvy PR's John Bell was tapped to lead the unit.

In February, InVentiv Health realigned its business by dividing its subsidiaries into two groups, one focused on advertising and paid media and the other concentrating on PR and medical education.